احکام نگاه ahkam-e negah (The Commandments of Looking): The Work of Maryam Tafakory

From 2008 to 2016, Bangkok-based filmmaker Sompot Chidgasornpongse, best known by his nickname “Boat,” rode every line of the Thai railway, capturing countless hours of footage of his encounters through the lens of his digital camera. Produced by his long-time friend and colleague Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Boat’s remarkable documentary Railway Sleepers depicts an unparalleled journey comprising elements that resemble the “real world” we live in—with its families, friends, food, chitchats, and hustles—but only exists amid the temporariness of the railroad; a fantastical world with a sense of nostalgia. Shot in a first-person point of view, the film starts as the train slowly leaves the station, establishing the inevitable reality of departure, of saying good-bye, that one faces before embarking on a journey to a new world. From school kids on a field trip to friends and young lovers, from foreigners in the nicer part of the train to the cramped section in the back, Boat’s inquisitive mind gently wonders and sparkles in the lights penetrating through the windows, the camera lens, and the dawn that breaks through the quiet darkness of the night. Railway Sleepers is an immersive field of fantasy where strangers relate, time stands still, and a sense of nostalgia subtly lingers.

Programmed and note by Hyesung ii.